Richard Zampella has worked in the hospitality industry for over 30 years. He has managed the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel and served as Food & Beverage Manager of the The Essex House Hotel on Central Park South. For 15 years he worked 65 floors high atop Rockefeller Center at the Rainbow Room under legendary restauranteur Joe Baum. In 2010, he created the concept and design for Skipperdee’s Ice Cream Shop in the seaside hamlet of Point Lookout, NY.

In 2017 & 2018, Skipperdee’s was selected as the Best Ice Cream Shop on Long Island. The designation in 2018 was made after 909,094 votes were cast and tabulated. The voting public selected Skipperdee’s as the Best Ice Cream in the food section. Skipperdees was been nominated for 2018 three categorgies in the food category including; Best Ice Cream, Best Candy Store and Best Lunch Deal on Long Island by The Long Island Press.

Richard Zampella is also a restaurant designer that created the interiors and exterior of Brixx & Barley Restaurant in Long Beach NY. He is also responsible for the bar design for Heneghan’s Tavern in Point Lookout, NY as well as the tavern’s website.

In 2013 Zampella receive a Critics’ Pic from the New York Times as producer for the feature documentary Cooper & Hemingway: The True Gen which is narrated by Sam Waterston. The film is currently available on DVD at Walmart, Best Buy and Target.

Richard Zampellais the Owner & Operator ofIdylease, a former resort hotel located in Newfoundland, which is a historically significant example of early 20th century resort architecture in Northwest, New Jersey.